Roduc La 025

Earlier we asked our readers in the Your Photo Tips.com Flickr Group to give us some of their best one sentence photography tips and we had a great response! For the next few weeks I’ll be elaborating, in my own words, what those photo tips mean to me and how they can help you become a better photographer. So if you missed the original post you can find it at 16 Quick Tips For New Photographers.
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A Different Kind Of Focus

ranger650 gave his one sentence tip as

Focus Focus.

Simple enough right?

Well… maybe not.

In photography, many technical aspects are held in higher regard than others. This is, of course, highly dependent on the type of photography one specializes in. Back when photography was a new medium photographers were defined by their ability to produce images that were technically and aesthetically pleasing. This of course required focus.

There are two ways of looking at focus in photography.

Focus can mean the apparent sharpness of an image. Is the subject in focus, and how does the depth of field play into that aspect of a particular photograph?

Focus can mean something all together different however. Focus can pertain to the ability to manage multiple tasks and achieve a desired result. In photography that can translate to numerous checklists whether they be technical or compositional.

Because I have written a few articles in the past about various ways to create “sharpness” in images we’ll focus (yes, that’s a pun) on the checklist aspect. If you’re interested in focus as pertaining to sharpness see the following articles below:

6 Tips to Getting Super Sharp Photographs
Depth Of Field Simplified
Bokeh

Now, let’s take a look at how I focus on creating or capturing a great image.

Typically the first thing I tend to focus on is the subject. Whether it’s a person in a portrait or a random item there are a myriad of things that run through my head.

Does this image require a tripod or am I hand holding the camera? This is usually the first thing that I tend to think about because it determines how fast the shutter speed will need to be given the amount of light. We don’t want to hand hold the camera if there is little light requiring a higher ISO. That can lead to “digital noise”.

How does the background work with the subject at hand? If the background, whether it’s color or texture, compliments then I will use a smaller aperture (larger f-stop) to increase the depth of field and include the background. But if I feel that the subject needs more isolation then I will go with a larger aperture (smaller f-stop) and blur out the background.

At this point I’m composing the image in my head as well. Using the rule of thirds as a guideline I’m deciding where to place the subject in the frame. Where does the horizon fall in relation to the subject and the composition? Often times I’ll find that by lowering or raising my point of view I can put the horizon on one of the “planes” that divides the frame into thirds, while placing the subject on a “power point”.

The whole time I’m also thinking about light and shadows. Do I need to pull out the strobes? On camera fill flash or off camera lighting?

All of this is important at the time of capture, but what about before?

Packing your gear properly is an often overlooked aspect of being focused as a photographer. If you’ve forgotten something at home or in the car, then it can throw you off as you are now scrambling to solve an issue. Do you have enough batteries, memory cards, lights, etc… A minor slip up and you could lose your train of thought. Next thing you know, you’re at home editing your images only to discover that you were shooting at 1600 ISO because the night before you were at a jazz club snapping concert images!

When I get to a location I walk the area slowly, looking for interesting angles and views. I tend to take my time doing this. I may look at a broken window for a couple minutes, squatting, leaning left and right, trying to compose the image in my head before pulling the camera to my eye.

Lastly, I find that staying focused also includes homework. We all can get a little burned out at times. I can go a few days without inspiration and feel a little dull with my work. In order to stay focused I try to get the camera out daily, and to look at other photographer’s works to keep myself inspired. I read books and magazines and experiment with techniques that I have either never tried before or haven’t used in a while.

The more tricks you have in the bag, the more often you’ll be able to pull off that “once in a lifetime” image.

I think that habit and preparation have much to do with focus. The more “good” habits (checking settings, checking composition) that a photographer has, the more that he/she can “focus” on the matter at hand (capturing a stellar photograph) and “focus” on their subject.

How do you stay focused?

Photograph Rudoc La 025 by ranger650

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